Quit it with the vegan mac & cheese

I'm not a vegan, but Instagram sure thinks I am. I keep getting ads for dairy-free Ben & Jerry's, and on the discover page they always show me posts from plant-based living accounts. It's my own fault really, and also not entirely unwelcome. I spend a lot of time looking at food and seeking out recipes on the app, so I end up following plenty of recipe developers, many of whom are vegan. They grab you with their bright colours and creative plating, as well as the ethical positive reinforcement of waste-free potato skin chips and cruelty-free mayonnaise.

But there's one thing which annoys me about these vegan accounts and cooking blogs: the incessant veganizing of meat and dairy classics, such as vegan french toast and vegan mac & cheese. There are a few reasons why they do this.

1. Clinging to the past

Taking up a vegan lifestyle, for whatever reason, means abandoning many of the foods you love: bacon, burgers, cheese, yoghurt, eggs. As much as you might be enjoying the dietary change, there are constant reminders of these past indulgences everywhere you go. The chance of enjoying those devilish delights without compromising your new diet is almost like sleeping with an ex but without any of the messy entanglements that comes with it.

2. Recruitment

I think people, especially young people, can easily see the arguments for a vegan (or at least vegetarian) lifestyle as compelling, and trying to rationalise eating meat only comes across as uncaring and environmentally irresponsible. However, it's a lifestyle that demands sacrifice, not just of comfort and money (particularly with meat/dairy substitutes and beauty products), but of the foods that we love and that form part of our regular meals. To create a vegan version of these meals (supposedly) helps to allay people's concerns about this - "It's only a little extra effort, you can still have chicken nuggets!"

3. A challenge

This is mostly true of baking. Baking is as much a science as it is an art. When you make cookies, creaming the butter and sugar together creates air pockets that help with rising. Eggs add richness, moisture, and protein to the mix. Finding substitutes that do all of these things is really difficult, so it feels really rewarding if you can pull it off.

I'm not a vegan, so why do I follow these accounts or care about any of this? Because I love food. I'm not following vegan accounts because they're vegan, but because they post delicious food and recipes. My issue with veganized food is that, for the most part, they suck.

In my own search for tasty, healthy, and cheap meals, I've come across plenty of amazing vegetarian/vegan recipes from all corners of the globe. But here's the thing: none of these recipes were created to suit a particular diet. They, like most recipes, were created by making use of what was around them.

Vegans, you don't need crummy, fake banana skin pulled pork or kidney bean brownies. Vegans so often get tired of stir fries and soups, but there's so much more. One of my crowd favourites is pesarattu (lentil pancakes) with chutney. A favourite dessert of mine is tembleque, a Puerto Rican coconut pudding topped with cinnamon. A warm bowl of congee is a great way to start the day. Then there's the meals that are easily made vegan, like berenjenas con miel from Spain, fried eggplant with honey (sub with maple syrup), or Persian ash-e anar (pomegranate soup) but don't serve it with meatballs.

At the end of the day, just eat delicious food. There is no need to put in so much effort into recreating the foods that you've so selflessly said goodbye to, especially if they are at best mediocre. It's true that there are good, simple vegan substitutes out there: the Beyond Meat burgers are juicy and meaty; you can use coconut yoghurt for raita. But quit it with the vegan mac & cheese when there is so much more, and better, out there.